The Council for Medical Schemes (CMS) has just published its quarterly report for the period ended 30 September 2019. Tasked with monitoring the financial performance and soundness of medical schemes, the CMS publishes comparative figures on a quarterly basis. Here is a brief summary of the key trends:
Accumulated funds and solvency levels
The overall industry average solvency level declined by 3.4% from the audited solvency level of 34.5% at 31 December 2018 to 33.3% at 30 September 2019.The total reserves per Regulation 29 for all medical schemes amounted to R 68.8 billion at 30 September 2019, which was 3.6% higher than the reserves of R 66.4 billion as at 31 December 2018.
Membership, age distribution and pensioner ratio
| ● | The total number of principal members of registered medical schemes increased by 0.7% from 4 039 705 at 31 December 2018 to 4 067 003 at 30 September 2019. |
| ● | The number of total beneficiaries increased slightly by 0.4% from 8 916 695 at 31 December 2018 to 8 954 814 as at 30 September 2019. |
| ● | The average number of members of 4 051 463 for the period ended 30 September 2019 was marginally higher than budget of 4 050 994, and the average number of beneficiaries of 8 924 829 was 0.2% lower than budget of 8 941 457. |
| ● | The industry average age for all registered schemes for the period ended 30 September 2019 was 33.3 years, which is similar to the 33.1 years as at 31 December 2018. The proportion of pensioners for the period was 8.7%; an increase from 8.5% as at 31 December 2018. |
Contributions and relevant healthcare expenditure
| ● | The total gross contributions for all medical schemes amounted to R 154.5 billion for the period ended 30 September 2019, which was 0.3% lower than the budget and 7.1% higher than the R 144.2 billion for 30 September 2018. |
| ● | The gross contribution per average beneficiary per month was R 1 923.30 for the period ended 30 September 2019. Gross relevant healthcare expenditure per average beneficiary per month was R 1 806.90 for the period ended 30 September 2019. |
| ● | The gross contribution per average beneficiary per month at 30 September 2019 of R 1 923.30 went up by 6.4% from R 1 807.20 as at 30 September 2018. |
Non-healthcare expenses
| ● | The total non-healthcare expenses for all medical schemes amounted to R 12.3 billion for the period ended 30 September 2019, which was 5.6% lower than the R 13.0 billion budgeted for and 3.7% higher than the R 11.8 billion at the end of September 2018. |
| ● | At 30 September 2019, the industry averages of the various components of non-healthcare expenses expressed as a percentage of total non-healthcare expenses were as follows: |
| Sep ‘19 | Dec ‘18 | |
| – Administration expenses | 83.8% | 83.1% |
| – Broker service fees (including distribution costs and broker fees) | 14.9% | 14.9% |
Click here to download the CMS Quarterly report which also includes data on operating results and investments.
